The Lebanese Presidency's Press Office denied the information published by journalist Simon Abou Fadel, stating that judicial investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, visited President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, to inform him of his desire to withdraw from the Beirut port crime investigation.

The Press Office asserts that this is fake and fabricated news, especially since the President had never met Judge Bitar.

The Presidency's Press Office reiterates that all positions not issued by the President himself, or by the Press Office, couldn’t be relied upon.